4 Everyday Ways to Practice Faster Transition Times

Use your daily routines to make big gains in this important part of racing.

by John Post

When I make coffee in the kitchen, I turn the pot on before I have any coffee in the coffee maker. This is my daily transition practice. Just listen. I don't know the number of seconds until the machine starts spitting hot water, but it's not many. I think fast: I know exactly where these things are—just like I know exactly where my shoes, race number, and hat are before I reach T2—because they're in the same place every race.

I load the coffee maker quickly, but in a very orderly fashion, and close the top not a second before the water boils. I have done it many times and rarely make an error. (When I do miss a step, the motivation to get the heck out of the way of a hot water spitting coffee maker is pretty high, as you'd imagine.)

Putting our keys on their hook. Stuffing the reusable grocery bags into their sack. Soaking beans for chili. Loading the beer fridge. I could go on.

What does all this have to do with triathlon? Think of all the ways you "transition" from task to task in your everyday life, preparing the scene for the next time you enter stage right. Within these moments lay numerous small lessons and opportunities to practice becoming a more efficient athlete—in training, racing, and daily life.

If you're new to the sport, transitions might be the last thing on your list to focus on. Getting from one sport to the next successfully, let alone quickly, will be the main focus for many of you. Semi competitive age group athletes, however, are continually looking for ways to button up their T1's and T2's—especially those of you who've lost a valuable placement because of a swim-to-bike blunder.

But guess what? You don't actually have to set up a mini triathlon in your backyard to get better at transitioning. Sure, practicing helps, but how many of us are going to race 10 practice sprint-distance races a year or perform wetsuit stripping at the pool every weekend?

Read on for some of our favorite ways to get body and mind into the transition "zone." Trust us—they work

Brick workouts: These provide the best and most obvious opportunities to practice race simulation. Most athletes, particularly as they get closer to race day, incorporate swim-to-bike and bike-to-run brick workouts. You train both your mind as well as your body that triathlon is not three separate sports but a single sport with three parts.

Before leaving home to ride, find an area in your driveway, garage, or yard—about the size of the spot you had for your previous race transition area—and set up your gear just as you would in a race. (Note: Most full IRONMANs and many IRONMAN 70.3's have a much more organized and detailed athlete bag system, though some IRONMAN 70.3's will feature the traditional "transition at your bike" set up. Check your athlete guide to see what your upcoming race will feature.) Most would agree, like a NASCAR pit stop, the triathlon transition is all about repeating, without error, a previously-practiced, carefully choreographed skill. The first time is just dress rehearsal. No rush.

Some of you may need to modify the above plan slightly by having a "car transition." Put a towel on the ground next to your truck, or maybe in the back seat. Place your gear in the same order as you would on race day.

At the ride's end, point your steed back toward transition and pause, say at the top of the driveway, putting the recently completed ride in your mental shredder. Collect your thoughts for a moment, hit the stopwatch and ride on to your gear where carefully and deliberately you change into a runner. Hit the stopwatch again and record your control time. Next time you do it, try to shave off a few seconds. The third time, really put some pep into things—an imaginary race—and check your time. You should be getting quicker and a more orderly each time. (Yes, of course you look incredibly stupid to the neighbors. It's the price you pay for race-day speed.)

A similar type of brick can be completed at the pool for a swim-to-bike brick. We simply ask the lifeguards the day before if we can set our transition area up outside the pool's back door, getting permission to leave it open. At the swim workout's conclusion, we don wetsuits, swim 100 yards, and carefully make our way out the door to our bikes. You'll find that you'll look forward to improving your results each time.

Non-workout transitions: While we've only addressed workouts so far, anything in your life that's regularly repeated can become transition practice with a little imagination and focus. Could it be the choice of routes on your 10-minute walk to the coffee shop? Maybe preparing for the day, brushing teeth, flossing, shaving, etc? Or possibly it's changing from casual to dress clothing?

Here, although not athletic gear, you have to go through entirely repeatable steps. Just keep the tunes off and dress as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Remember, even though this is just changing clothes, try to focus on the process and any repeatable steps.

Training the mind: In transitions, we're trying to train our musculoskeletal systems to perform an activity without thinking about it. Sports Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader says that a big chunk of his job is to train athletes "not to think during moments when they are likely to do it the most." He wants them to practice getting in what many call the zone.

We want this to be automatic and error-free, even when under significant pressure. We're imprinting this motor skill so that it's more like a reflex. This is where thinking of times in your day where you perform the same activity with the same steps turns it into an opportunity to turn it into "transition practice," intended to train your nervous system to hasten predictable activity for your benefit.

Bare essentials: One of the real benefits of practicing transitions is paring down unneeded items. Anyone who's lugged a big bottle of shampoo to the pool 10 times soon realizes the genius of those little travel tubes. After you've practiced this a number of times, you'll learn the bare essentials, not only decluttering your surroundings, but your mind as well—all to your benefit and a transition PB. When, in a popular event where you have to park well away from the transition area, you'll have fewer items and a lighter load to lug, putting you one step ahead of the competition.